There was a knock on my open door. It was Sarah. She gave me one of her sweet smiles when she saw me and stepped inside. "I thought that I heard you. Where were you? And sorry that I could not camp with you and the others. I have insomnia when attempting to sleep outdoors." She noticed the broken frame in the corner. "So that is what I heard."

I turned my body to face her, and my eyebrows furrowed. "Thank gosh that it is you and not my mom or dad or darn sister," I said.

"Did you all have a heated argument downstairs? I was upstairs, but overheard it as plain as day."

"Yeah. But it would have never happened if my family had not decided to leave Forlot with me."

Sarah massaged the side of her neck. "I knew it. I knew that you would be ticked about that."

I sat on the edge of my bed and patted the bed. "You can come sit with me if you would like. Unless you are here to lecture how 'right' my family's stupid decision is."

"I hear you, Margie. I think that it is totally unfair for your parents and sister to take you from the one place that makes you happy. And I am not saying that because I am Dr. O'Connor's granddaughter."

I was surprised that she agreed with me. "You do?"

"All the way." She sat next to me and flipped her hair. "I do not have to be a Monster Protector to know how wrong it is. At the very least, they could just leave and let you stay in Forlot."

"But...we would be separated. Scarlett would miss me."

"If Scarlett truly loved you, she would believe in you and not force you to do something that you do not want to do. That is like a strict Christian forcing his or her beliefs onto a nonbeliever. It is not what a true Christian would do. Besides, she and your mom and dad could visit Forlot from time to time."

"Forlot is far from California, Sarah. It would be a pain for them to drive or take an airplane just to see me."

"Love has no boundaries, Margie. Unless it is lust."

Our conversation was cut short by another knock on my bedroom door. It was my sister, Scarlett, and with her were our parents. I was afraid that they would have a serious talk with me after how I acted.

"Oh. Sarah," Scarlett said. "Would you give me and my parents a few minutes with Margie?"

Sarah glanced at me, and then back at her and jumped to her feet. "You are my friend, and I will respect your wishes."

She exited my room, and my family scurried in. Scarlett kept standing, and my folks plopped next to either side of me. They were smiling at me, but I was no idiot. I knew that they were forcing themselves to.

My sister pointed at my nightstand. "Where is the picture of the four of us?"

I am unsure why - probably because I was not in the mood - but I directed her to the corner of the room. When she spotted it and realized that the frame was broken, she freaked. Just as I expected.

"Did you accidentally break the glass?"

"Nope." I grinned at her as if I were proud of what I did. "I did it on purpose."

"What?!"

"Relax, Scarlett. The frame is damaged, not the photo," Dad reassured her. "We can always buy a new one."

"Sweetheart, why did you break the frame?" Mom asked me.

"I felt like it. And I do not think that there is no need to get a new frame. The broken one represents our family. How broken and stupid it is."

Dad adjusted his glasses. "Watch what you are saying, young lady. Our family is far from broken."

I grumbled, "That is what you think."

"I am relieved that we are all leaving Forlot," Mom stated. "When we get home and rested up, Margie, your father and I will sign you up for therapy."

"Therapy?!"

She clasped her hands together. "You will find it to be a life-changing experience. It will help your mental illness."

"Mental illness?!"

"Your sister told us everything that happened during our absence...especially the crossbow incident at school."

I hissed at my sister. "Scarlett!"

"It is for your own good," Scarlett said. "You will be thanking us later."

"No!" I leaped up and scooted from them. "You are supposed to be my family. Yet you do not trust me."

Scarlett took a step towards me. "We only want to help you."

"If you want to help, you support me and trust me."

"We do support you," Mom and Dad said in unison.

"That is a bunch of bull!"

I scurried up to the broken frame and moved the glass pieces aside. I picked up the frame, yanked the picture out of it, and dropped the frame back down. I showed them the photo.

"This used to be us," I stated. "A loving family who did not care if I was a bit on the weird side. Now, they are gone." I teared up. "What happened to the family that I used to know?"

"Margie, it is still us," Scarlett tried to convince us. "We love you."

I looked at the picture...and began to rip it. My mom, dad, and sister begged me to stop, however, I did not. I ripped it, and it was now in two pieces. One piece was my parents and sister, and the other was me. All alone.

I threw the pieces, and they fluttered to the floor. "There. Now we are not family anymore." I grabbed my bag and started for the doorway.

"Where do you think that you are going?" Scarlett demanded.

"Going to do my job. I am still the Monster Protector."

"No, you are not!" Mom protested.